LOWER DIR: The district administration with the help of a local jirga has resolved a decades-long land dispute between two tribes.

A function to this effect was held at Shatai Dara the other day attended by elders of both Osakhel and Utmankhel tribes, Dir Qaumi Jirga (DQJ) members and administration officers.

The Shatai Dara land dispute remained unsolved for last 60 years, claiming several lives.

The district administration and the DQJ had started efforts a month ago to resolve the dispute through negotiations. The efforts succeeded with the warring tribes agreeing to come to the negotiating table.

DQJ chief Sahibzada Yaqub Khan, additional deputy commissioner Abdul Wali Khan, Malik Aslam Parvez, Malik Farooq Iqbal, former provincial minister Muzaffar Syed, former district bar president Jahan Bahadur, JUI-F district chief Sirajuddin, and others addressed the function.

They appreciated the role played by DQJ and the district administration in resolving the dispute.

OATH TAKING: The newly-elected cabinet members of the Dir printers and publishers association were administered oath during a function held the other day.

Association’s provincial president Zafar Rehman Khattak was the chief guest on the occasion. A 14-member cabinet, including its president Izazul Haq and general secretary Mohammad Rehman, was sworn in.

Mr Khattak announced that elections at the provincial level would also be held soon. He said the body’s Lower Dir and Swat cabinet members would be given representation in the provincial cabinet.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2023